Tallying our war dead
* 4,435 died in the Revolutionary War* 2,260 died in the War of 1812* 13,283 died in the Mexican War* 364,511 died in the Civil War* 2,446 died in the Spanish-American War* 116,516 died in World War I* 405,399 died in World War II* 36,574 died in the Korean War* 58,220 died in the Vietnam War* 1,948* died in the Persian Gulf War* 2,352* died in Operation Enduring Freedom* 4,412* died in Operation Iraqi Freedom* 66* died in Operation New Dawn* As of Dec. 22, 2014Source: Congressional Research Service
Today — Memorial Day — is the day we honor those who died in our wars.
In many ways, Memorial Day and the honor we give our fallen soldiers seem to be the only honorable things about war.
War is, after all, the end result of our inabilities to live peacefully and fairly with each other.